Collapsible chair



`.mg.29,1944'. J BOCONNOR ETAL l 2,356,793

coLLAPsILE CHAIR Filed July 1o, 1959 A Patented Aug. 29, 1944COLLAPSIBL'E CHAIR John B. OConnor and James E. Bales, Aurora,

Ill., assignors to Lyon Metal Products, Incorpon rated, Aurora, Ill., aycorporation of Illinois Application July 1o, 1939; serial No. 283,594

s claims. (ol.155-142) This invention relates to folding or collapsiblechairs.

Among the objects of the present invention are to provide a simple,economical, and sturdy folding chair constructed and arranged so thatthe seat is shiftable relative to the chair supports so that the seatmay be either in position to support a person sitting in a chair or maybe shifted to an out-of-the-way position to permit the occupant of thechair to stand and all accomplished without collapsing'or folding thechair; to provide an all-metal chair consisting of foldable front andback leg members and a seat engaging said members and assembled at leastto one 'of them, the seat being shiftable from a substantiallyhorizontal position to permit an occupant to sit thereon or to beshifted to an upright or out-of-the-way position with respect to theoccupant; to provide a collapsible chair Vcomprising a main frameincluding 'front legs Vand a back supporting portion and a pair of rearlegs pivotally connected thereto and adapted to collapse to be foldedtherea'gainst in combination with a seat pivotally connected to thefront frame member and adapted to shift to a substantially horizontal oropen position to seat the occupant or to shift to a substantiallyVertical out-of-the'- way position; to provide an all-metal foldingchair comprising a main channel member form-l ing front legs and aAchanneled back support member in combination with a pair of legs ofsubstantially similar channel cross-section pivoted to saidfirst-mentioned frame member and wherein a seat is pivotally connectedto the back supwherein inter-connecting means is provided 'for holdingthe relatively pivoted legs in open position; to provide an all-metalchair wherein the main and rear leg members are formed of a similar typeof channel-shaped iron and pivotall'y interconnected and wherein a seatis pivotallly connected to the front channel sheet portion between thelateral walls forming the channel portion', and wherein the rearportions of the seat are provided with suitable members adapted 'toVswing into engagement with stop members in position; to provide a chairof the foregoing type y i the.l channeled rear. leg members, .one of thelateral walls forming vthe fchannel of the rear leg members being vbentoutwardly to permit the "passage of the stop means into such positionthat the chair seat is maintained in horizontal 'position to receive anoccupant;` to provide these and other objects of invention as will beapparent from a perusal of the following specication when taken inconnection with the accompanyin d-rawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved chair;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2--2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is anenlarged perspective view of the chair seat stop and themanner in which it engages th'e cooperative stop formed in thechannel-shaped rear legs;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a detailed view of the folding leg locking member.

' Referring now to the drawing in detail, the chair, which is preferablyan all-metal chair, comprises a main frame member 2, preferably ofinverted U-shaped formation whereby to comprise a pair of front legs anda back supporting member. This frame member 2 is normally disposed, whenthe chair isopen, in an upwardly inclined position as shown -in'Fig'ures1 and 2. It is formed with a U or ychannel shaped cross section, wherebyto provide an interior space or 'recess capable of being utilized tohouse and mount Various ttings such, for instance,l as the 'sheet metalback 4 which is adaptedl snugly'to fit in the upper frame portion asshown in Figure 2 and to be assembled therein by means of a bolt orscrew 6. The lower portion of this back 4 is provided with a rolled orbeaded edge 8 for strength and ornateness. It is preferably flared orconcave, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. Any type of back may b'e used inconnection with this channel-shaped frame member 2.

The frame member is provided with a lower .cross support HJ, the ends ofwhich are provided with, right-angled anges I2," fitting within the:channel recess ,of the channel-shaped frame 2 and suitably riveted inposition as at i4. In ad dition, a sheet metal chair seat llliof anydesired construction is vpivoted tothe 'channel-shaped member as at I8.This chair seat may be of any vdesired construction. However,4 the typeshown is covered by a pending applicationassigned to the same assigneeto whom, the present application is assigned. This chair seat I6includes a pair of rearwardly extending ears which are adapted to passthrough a slot 22 in a downwardly extending flange 24 of the seat, theinside portion 26 of each ear being riveted to the seat as at 28 (Figure4), whereby the ear is formed as a substantially integral part of theseat. This ear 2D is provided with an outwardly extending stop orabutment 38, preferably formed as a.ho1low cylinder and adapted tocontain a cylindrical liber block 32, the outer end 34 of which mayscrape against the inner wall of the rear channel leg as hereinafterdescribed in order to deaden the sound. This cylindrical stop 30 isriveted as at 36 to lug 26.

The rear leg members 38 and 48 likewise comprise channel shaped sectionswhich are preferably formed like the front leg member except that theyare shorter. They are adapted to be pivotally connected to the frontframe member by means of lugs 42, each passing through a slot 44 in themain frame member 2 and riveted or welded thereto as at 46. Each lug 42pivotally engages one of the rear leg members 38 and 48 as at 48 wherebythe rear legs and the front legs may be swung to an open position asshown in Figure 1 or may be swung to a folded position adjacent eachother.

Means is provided for either holding the front and rear legs in openposition or permitting them to collapse to adjacently folded position,preferably comprising the hinged metallic strips 56 and 52 pivotedtogether as at 54. The member 50 is provided with a locking slot 56 andthe member 52 is provided with a locking tongue 58 which isadapted toengage the slot 56 to hold the front leg members rmly in open position.Each front strip 56 is pivoted as at 60 to one side of the main framemember 2 while the strips 52 are pivoted respectively as at 62 to therear leg members 38 and 40. l

The rear leg members are provided with a cross brace 64 of strip metal,which cross brace is provided with lateral flanges 6.6 inserted in thechannel recess portion of the rear leg members 38 and 40 and weldedorriveted thereto.

v An extremely simple construction for these rear leg members isprovided which will permit the chair seat to be maintained sturdily inopen position to permit an occupant to be seated in the chair or whichwill permit the seat to swing to a position shown in dotted lines inFigure 2, wherein the seat is wholly disengaged from the rear legmembers. The means that is provided in carrying out this functionconsists in bending the front lateral flange 68 of each rear legsubstantially midway of its length substantially 90 degrees so as toprovide an outwardly flaring portion or lip 1D which likewise issubstantially parallel to the outer wall portion 'l2 of each rear leg(see Figure 4). Inasmuch as only a portion of this ange 68 is bentoutwardly, as hereinbefore described, `there is provided a shoulder 'I4which cooperates with the channel shape of the remainder of the upperportion of each leg which provides a lock groove as hereinafterexplained. Cooperating with this groove there is provided a stop member16 herein shown arcuate or concave in formation. The stop member ispreferably formed as a flange on the lower end of a metallic strip`18which is inserted in the channel of each leg portion and welded inplace. A similar shoulder 86 isformed on the lower portion of each rearleg just below the `outwardly :daring lip 10, which facilitates theassembly of the cross brace 64 into the lower channel portion ofthe rearlegs 38 and 40.

When the chair is in open position, it will be seen that the cylinderlock 30 of the seat is adapted to swing across the outwardly bent lip IUso that the stop 3D may enter the channel behind the upper portion ofthe forward ange 68 locking behind the shoulder 'I4 and moving inwardlyuntil it engages the stop member 16.

Since there are two stops to cooperate with the opposed locks 38, one oneach rear corner of the seat, when the stop members are in the positionshown in Figure 2, the seat will be held rigidly and firmly inhorizontal open position. When necessary, the occupant of the seat bystanding may lift the front of the seat upwardly, whereupon the seatwill pivot at I8 to the dotted line position. When this happens, thelock 30 will Vswing downwardly arcuately out of its slot and pass overthe lip 'I0 to a position Wholly detached and independent from the rearleg members. In completely folded position, the rear leg members 38 willlie substantially parallel to the front leg members I2 and the seat I6will lie parallel to the frame member 2.

It will thus be seen that there is provided a very simple, sturdy, andeconomical type of folding chair, the arrangement being such thatshifting of the seat permits the chair to be folded butdoes notnecessarily result in folding of the entire chair. That is to say, whiledisposition of the seat in normal operative position positively locksthe legs in position in use, movement of the seat from open position canbe accomplished without necessarily collapsing or folding 4 the unit.This arrangement accordingly permits the occupant of one chair to stand,raise the seat, and step back to permit more space for another'person topass in front of the chair, and to likewise permit the seat to be liftedwithout fold- 'ing the chair. l Y, The invention is hereby claimed asfollows:

l. A foldingv chair comprising a unitary substantially .U-shaped frameof channel-shaped vcross section providing a back support and frontlegs, a pair of rear legs having channels, said legs being pivotedtosaid frame member and adapted to be folded to position adjacent saidframe member or to open position with respect thereto, stop meansdisposed within the channels of said rear legs, means to maintain saidpairs of legs in open position, a seat pivotally connect'e'd to said'frame member and having va pair `of .stops on the rearmost portion ofsaid seat, each rear leg Vhaving an open portion adjacent the channel topermit a stop to swing inwardly of and locate within such channeledportion of said' rear leg and to contact the stop means Atherein whilepermitting said stop to swing clear of and independently of said rearleg whereby `to permit said seat to tilt or swing upwardly.

2. A chair comprising a channel-shaped', metal frame member including aback supporting portion and front legs, a pairof channel-shaped metalrear legs pivotally connected to s'aid frame member, an intermediateportion of lone "of the llanges Vof the channel of each fearlegfbeingfbent .out oftheplane of saidY flange, a seatV pivotallymounted on said frame membeLQSaid'seaft having opposed stop members,each stop'member'being kadapted vto'swing across the .outwardlygbentp0rjtion of a rear channel-shapedleg and into the ch'annel of said rearleg, transverse stops disposed 'in the channels of the 're'ar legsto.be.`engag ed by said seat stops and means to maintain the legs inpredetermined spread apart position.

3. A folding chair comprising a channelshaped frame member including aback supporting portion and front legs. a pair of channelshaped rear legmembers pivotally connected to said frame member, an intermediateportion of one of the flanges of the channel of each rear leg being bentout of the plane of said flange, a seat pivotally mounted on said framemember. said seat having opposed stop members, each stop member beingadapted to swing across the outwardly bent portion of a rearchannel-shaped member and into the channel of said rear member, atransverse stop disposed in the channel of the rear member to be engagedby said seat stop. and hinged members engaging the front and rear legsand in one position adapted to hold the same firmly in spread apartposition, said hinged members being collapsible to permit said legs andsaid seat to fold into relatively at position.

4. A folding chair having a pair of front legs and a back frame, apairof rear legs pivotally connected to said first-mentioned frame, each ofsaid rear legs being formed of channeled metal, the openings of thechannels of said rear legs facing each other, and the forward lateralflange of each rear leg for a length substantially centrally of the legbeing bent forwardly somewhat into the plane of the outer face of theleg portion whereby to provide a locking shoulder with a flangethereabove, a stop member inserted in the channel above said shoulderand extending transversely across the channel-shaped member. a seatpivoted to the front leg member, said seat having a rearwardly extendingrigid extension carrying Ia stop member whereby upon pivotal movement ofsaid seat said second stop member is adapted to swing across theforwardly bent portion of the channel-shaped member to lodge behind theshoulder and against the transverse stop of said rear leg member wherebyto hold said seat in open Position.

5. A folding chair having a pair of front legs and a back frame, a pairof rear legs pivotally connected to said first-mentioned frame, each ofI said rear legs being formed of a metallic channelshaped strip, theopenings of the channels of said rear legs facing each other, and theforward lateral flange of each rear leg for a length substantiallycentrally of the leg being bent forwardly somewhat into the plane of theouter face of the leg portion whereby to provide a locking shoulder withthe flange thereabove, a metallic stop member inserted in the channelabove said shoulder and extending transversely across the channel-shapedmember, a seat pivoted to the front leg member, said seat having arearwardly extending rigid piece carrying a stop member whereby uponpivotal movement of said seat said seat stop member is adapted to swingacross the forwardly bent portion of the channel-shaped member to lodgebehind the shoulder and .against the said transverse stop of said rearleg member whereby to hold said seat in open position, said seat stopcomprising a cylindrical lug carrying a non-metallic sound deadeningelement.

6. A folding chair comprising a main frame comprising front legs and aback frame, a back mounted in the top of said main frame, a seatpivotally mounted substantially midway of said main frame, a pair ofspaced rear legs mounted to opposite portions of said main frame, eachof said rear legs comprising a single channeled metallic member, aportion of the channeled rear leg members being bent substantiallydegrees forwardly to open position to provide an upper shoulder, a stripof metal inserted in the upper portion of each of said channel-shapedlegs above said open bend and each strip having a transversely extendingflange providing a horizontal stop immediately above said shoulder, across brace for said rear leg members having opposed lateral flangeseach inserted in the channeled portion of a rear leg member below saidforwardly bent portion, means for securing said cross brace in saidchannel-shaped portions, said seathaving a pair of longitudinallyextending parallelly arranged lugs, a lateral and outwardly extendingstop member mounted on each of said lugs and adapted to swing acrosssaid outwardly bent portion of one of said rear leg members into thechanneled portion of said member behind said shoulder to engage thetransversely extending flange constituting said stop whereby to holdsaid seat in open position, said forwardly bent portions of thechannel-shaped members permitting said seat stops to swing downwardlyand out of complete engagement with said rear legs whereby said seat mayswing to a position substantially parallel with said combined front legand back frame, and means for permitting said front and rear leg membersto collapse into adjacent position and alternatively to hold said frontand rear leg members in open position. u

'7. A chair comprising a pair of front legs and a back frame, a pair ofchannel-shaped rear legs pivotally connected to said frame and havingchannel portions opening inwardly, a flange of each channel-shaped legbeing reduced for a portion intermediate of its length, a seat pivotallymounted on said frame, said seat having stop members adapted to swingtransversely through said reduced portions of the channel members whenthe seat is pivotally moved to an open generally horizontal position andbeing receivable within the channel portion of the rear legs, stop meansassociated with said channel portions of the rear legs and engageable bysaid seat stops and means to maintain the legs in predetermined spreadapart position.

8. A chair comprising a pair of front legs and a back frame, a pair ofchannel-shaped rear legs pivotally connected to said frame and havingchannel portions opening inwardly, a ange of each channel-shaped legbeing reduced for a portion intermediate of its length, a seat pivotallymounted on said frame, said seat havin-g stop members adapted to swingtransversely through said reduced portions of the channel members whenthe seat is pivotally moved to an open generally horizontal position andbeing receivable within the channel portion of the rear legs, stop meansassociated with said channel portions of the rear legs and engageable bysaid seat stops, said seat stops comprising a surface of sound deadeningmaterial facing outwardly and disposed for engagement with an innersurface of the channel shaped section when the seat is in open positionand means for maintaining the legs in predetermlned spread apartposition.

JOHN B, OCONNOR. JAMES E. BALES.

